Dr. Dostaler comes to Memorial from the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University where she has served as a professor of management and academic director of the university’s Aviation Think Tank.

She’s the first permanent female dean of Memorial’s business faculty, and this is the first time that most of the major leadership positions at the faculty have been held by women. Dr. Travor Brown remains as the associate dean (research), a position he’s held since 2015.

MBA education a ‘game changer’

Dr. Rachelle Shannahan

Dr. Rachelle Shannahan is taking over responsibility for the associate dean (course-based masters) portfolio, which focuses on the MBA program. Although this is her first term in the role at Memorial, she has previously managed the MBA program at the University of New Brunswick.

“Graduate management education in general, and the MBA program in particular, is such a game changer because of the possibilities it affords both personally and professionally,” said Dr. Shannahan. “Moving into this new role and joining the leadership team at such an exciting time makes me think of my own experience embarking on my MBA. I’m looking forward to this new challenge because, like our students, I’m excited about the possibilities that lie ahead.”

Dr. Shannahan has a bachelor of arts (BA) in political science and a (MBA) in international business from the University of New Brunswick as well as and a doctor of philosophy (PhD) in business administration in marketing and supply chain management from the Fogelman College of Business and Economics, University of Memphis.

Dr. Shannahan joined the business faculty at Memorial in 2009, prior to which she was an assistant professor at the University of New Brunswick. She’s an active member of the American Marketing Association (AMA) and the Society for Marketing Advances (SMA) and her industry experience includes several years with Xerox Canada.

Dr. Shannahan teaches courses on marketing strategy, services marketing, marketing research and customer relationship management.Her primary research interest is in studying customer influence on the personal selling process and on salesperson performance in a relational, business-to-business context. She is also interested in customer participation in service delivery and how this participation impacts customer satisfaction.

Her research has been published in such outlets as the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management and Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, Industrial Marketing Management and the Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing.

In 2014, she received the James M. Comer Award for Best Contribution to Selling and Sales Management Theory from the Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management.

MBA to undergrad

Dr. Peggy Coady

Dr. Peggy Coady is taking over the role of associate dean (undergraduate programs) for a one-year term while Dr. Larry Bauer is on administrative leave. Dr. Coady is an associate professor of accounting.

She’s been involved in the academic administration of the faculty since 2006 in the roles of manager, academic programs (acting); associate dean, academic programs (acting); director, graduate programs; and most recently, associate dean (course-based masters).

“With the changing senior leadership roles in the business faculty this coming academic year, I offered to oversee the undergraduate programs while Dr. Bauer is on leave, given I have had some experience in undergraduate program administration,” said Dr. Coady. “I am looking forward to working with the staff in the Undergraduate Programs Office and our new senior leadership team.”

Dr. Coady started with Memorial in 1997. A chartered accountant (CA), she previously worked with Deloitte LLP from 1990-1997.

She completed a bachelor of commerce honours (co-operative) degree and a MBA at Memorial and was awarded the university medal for academic excellence at both convocations. She also has a doctorate of business administration (DBA) from the Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) in Waterford, Ireland.

Dr. Coady has been coaching Memorial’s student case teams for over 10 years in competitions like the John Molson MBA International Case Competition and the Network of International Business Schools (NIBS) Undergraduate Case Competition.

Graduate of first MER class now program head

Dr. Amy Warren

Dr. Amy Warren is the new director of the MER program, which is offered jointly with the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. The role of MER director alternates between the two faculties every three years.

“I feel a strong affinity for the MER program as I was a member of the first MER graduating class at Memorial and I’ve been involved with teaching, admissions and policy development for the program for numerous years,” said Dr. Warren. “I look forward to the challenge of building upon the great work of former MER directors and administrator Donna Fitzgerald to ensure the MER program continues to evolve and respond to the needs of its students.”

Dr. Warren began teaching at the business faculty in the areas of human resource management and labour relations in 2003, during which time she received several teaching awards including the Dean’s Teaching Award in 2012.

She completed her PhD at Saint Mary’s University and her research interests include retirement, bridge employment, the multi-generational workplace, health and safety, and goal setting.

To date, Dr. Warren has been awarded two research grants as principal investigator from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). Her team’s current research grant focuses on using goal setting interventions to help reduce the impact of workplace mistreatment.

Dr. Warren’s research has been published in several peer-reviewed publications including Human Resource Management Review, Economic and Industrial Democracy, International Journal of Manpower, Human Resource Development Quarterly and Career Development International.